Gita Gopinath, Becomes Second Indian After Raghuram Rajan To Be Appointed Chief Economist At IMF

Gita Gopinath has been named as Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), becoming the second Indian to be appointed to the position. Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had served as Chief Economist of the IMF. Gopinath would succeed Maurice (Maury) Obstfeld, who is to retire at the end of 2018, the IMF said in a statement Monday.

Currently, Gopinath is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University. Earlier in 2016, her appointment as financial advisor to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had generated controversy as some communist leaders questioned the CPM-led state government for roping in a person who was more into market economy and liberal policies.

“Gopinath is one of the world’s outstanding economists, with impeccable academic credentials, a proven track record of intellectual leadership, and extensive international experience,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said. “Lagarde added.

Gopinath did her PhD in economics from Princeton University in 2001 and she was guided by Kenneth Rogoff, Ben Bernanke and Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. The economist joined the University of Chicago in 2001 as an Assistant Professor before moving to Harvard in 2005. She became a tenured Professor there in 2010. She is the third woman in the history of Harvard to be a tenured professor at its esteemed economics department and the first Indian since the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to hold that position.

According to the IMF statement, Gopinath who is a US citizen and an Overseas Citizen of India, is co-editor of the American Economic Review and co-director of the International Finance and Macroeconomics Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).